1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display method, apparatus, and program for displaying a three-dimensional configuration of a tubular structure extracted from a three-dimensional image of a subject in an easy-to-observe manner. More specifically, the invention is directed to an image display method, apparatus, and program for displaying a three-dimensional configuration of a luminal structure, such as blood vessel, intestine, bronchial tube, or the like in a manner useful for observation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, processing for extracting a three-dimensional structure, such as a core line representing structural information of an observation target luminal structure from a three-dimensional medical image of a subject obtained by CT equipment, MRI machine, ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, or the like and displaying the structure in a form useful for observation is performed, in order to facilitate observation of a three-dimensional configuration of the luminal structure of the subject, such as blood vessel, intestine, bronchial tube, or the like.
A method of simultaneously displaying an image, such as a volume rendering image in which the entirety of a-three-dimensional structure of extracted core line or the like is rendered in superimposed manner, and a multi planar reconstruction (MPR) image that orthogonally intersects the three-dimensional image at a specified arbitrary position thereof with an indicator, such as a marker or the like, attached to the intersecting position is proposed as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-246941.
When sequentially displaying MPR images of cross-sections intersecting at respective positions of an extracted three-dimensional structure along the structure, a method for providing, for example, an image I2 shown in FIG. 11 is also known, in which the entirety of the extracted three-dimensional image S is superimposed on each of the cross-sectional images, and an indicator, such as a marker or the like, is attached to the intersecting position to enable an observer to easily understand to which position on the three-dimensional structure each cross-sectional image corresponds.
But, when attentively observing the intersecting state between an extracted three-dimensional structure and each cross-sectional image, for example, when checking extraction state of a three-dimensional structure of a blood vessel by sequentially observing the three-dimensional structure at each of the positions where a plurality of cross-sectional images is intersecting in the advancement direction of the structure, the conventional technique described above gives rise to the following problem. That is, in the conventional technique, the entirety of the extracted three-dimensional structure is superimposed on each cross-sectional image with an indicator, such as a marker or the like attached to the intersecting position, so that as the length of the extracted three-dimensional structure becomes long, or as the structure of the three-dimensional structure becomes complicated, the three-dimensional structure displayed in a superimposed manner becomes large, which hinders observation of a region of interest and observability is degraded.
In view of the circumstances described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image display method and apparatus capable of improving observability of the three-dimensional configuration of a target object. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a computer program product therefor.